And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.  What […]

Some years ago there lived in an English city a man whom I shall call Fred Armstrong. He worked in the local post office, where he was called ‘dead-letter man’ because he handled missives whose addresses were faulty or hard to read. He lived in an old house with his little wife and even smaller […]

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. ~Charles Schulz Melanie Hack Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend Read an excerpt now TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

My daughter Tamiko had been busy in school, excited with Christmas coming.  All’s Tamiko could do is talk about Santa and what she would like to get everyone. Today, Miko, my 7-year-old daughter brought home the gifts she bought at school… Busy as usual during the 5 to 7 o’clock hours, we didn’t catch what […]

‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the school Not a pupil was silent, no matter what rule. The children were busy with paper and paste; The mess that they made with it couldn’t be faced. The teacher half frantic and almost in tears, Had just settled down to work with her dears, When […]

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree.  No name, no identification, no inscription.  It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas–oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects […]

I have always thought of Christmastime, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as […]

The holiday season abounds with opportunities for extending kindness to others. You could: Buy or donate shoes, boots, clothes, and warm winter attire for a family in need. Invite an elderly or lonely neighbor over for dinner…or take dinner to them and chat. Help an elderly person with grocery shopping. They may have their own […]

This holiday season the family decided to “Skip Christmas”! –Not the spirit or the meaning of Christmas…but all of the hustle and bustle associated with the season. You see, they welcomed cards from one another and from others…but they respectfully requested that in lieu of buying a gift people were to do a random act […]

I’ve discovered there are lots of ways to remember a loved one during the holiday season. You could: Light a candle or a Hospice tree during their “Tree of Lights” event. Hang a special ornament to honor a deceased loved one—an ornament that had special meaning for your beloved…or one that you made yourself (or […]